CHICAGO: Spirits supplier Barton Brands has picked CKPR to handle a major PR push for the Caravella brand of liqueurs. CKPR will also help Barton launch a new product in the US later this year.

Caravella's Limoncello line of lemon-flavored liqueur has a 35% market share in Italy, where the drink originated in 1898. It was first sold in the US in 1996. Barton also introduced Caravella's Orangecello line to the US in 2002.

CKPR will put a five-person team on the new account, meaning annual fees should be in the $300,000-$350,000 range.

CKPR has done work for Barton's Corona beer brand in the past, and so the spirits and beer distributor decided to use CKPR on these new assignments, said Ed Gualtieri, EVP of marketing.

The market Barton wants to reach with Caravella is women ages 25-40 who have high incomes and an interest in gourmet cooking and entertaining, Gualtieri said.

"We're trying to underscore the roots of the product - its Italian roots and heritage. A PR effort to the right people will do that," he said.

CKPR will set up tasting events and tie-ins with retailers at places such as bookstores, said Joel Curran, SVP and managing director of CKPR in Chicago. The agency also expects to hold educational sessions for restaurants on how best to serve Caravella.

"A lot of our work is going to be awareness building," Curran said. "We want to open people's eyes to creative ways to create recipes using Caravella."

Neither Curran nor Gualtieri would comment on the new product Barton is planning to launch later in the year, other than to agree that PR will play a major part in its rollout.